21/12/2014
Take Me To Alaska
Live at Pi Bar (Leicester)
At the end of 2014, I had the pleasure and opportunity to photograph a live music performance as my beloved friends took to the stage and played their debut gig as the band 'Take Me To Alaska'.
Formed in January 2014, the folk rock/indie band consists of 2 females and 1 male. Meesha Greensmith, Paige Greensmith and Luke Warren. Passionate musicians, both Meesha and Luke found one another via an advertisement posted on the internet. After contacting each other and then finally meeting in person they had a few jamming sessions. Later that year, in March, Paige joined, thus completing the 3 piece line-up for 'Take Me To Alaska,' who's music has often been compared to that of the band 'Of Monsters and Men.'
Personally I was very excited about their performance. I had anticipated and waited for quite some months to hear a full song or track of theirs. All year they would tease me now and again with 'Snapchat' videos and exclusive updates for their fans such as Twitter and Facebook. Finally on the 21st of December 2014 I was able to witness and hear 3 tracks live at the Pi Bar in Leicester. Their performance was incredible...excuse me if I'm being biased. Despite the nerves that were very evident at the beginning, they grew in confidence through out their short set.
The first song 'Second Best' was a strong start, with its heart pounding base chords supplemented by a beautiful subtle drum beat that, for me, echoed the sounds of the bands name. 'Second Best' seemed to take me to the snowy mountain tops of Alaska and wrap me in a blanket. It's well written lyrics perfectly intertwining with the music. For me this very song had some likeness to the works of 'The Black Ghosts', more specifically the track 'Full Moon'.
With a change of instrument for Meesha, came a slight change of pace for their second song. '3 Years of Fall' is an inspirational, tear-jerker of a song that starts with soft mellow chords and keeps to a slow pace throughout. The lyrics convey both deep emotions and expressions of love, inviting the listener to take a chance and open their eyes to life's possibilities. With the onset of each chorus the strums of their guitars increased and then slowed and as the song reached its close the instruments smoothly faded out one by one.
The band finished off their set with a song called 'When Winter Comes.' This was the stand out track of the three for me. It felt so original and picked up from the mellow pace of their previous number. The warm tone set by the use of 3 electric acoustic guitars continued throughout the song, picking up the pace for each chorus. As the second chorus closed a solo bridge by Meesha kicked in before she was joined by Luke continuing the main tune. As Paige came in with her bass, Meesha switched from playing her guitar to drumming it and gave the bridge a very beautiful heart-felt touch. The song was brought back into a final round of the chorus and then faded out with a round of applause from the audience.
I really love the complementary vocals of male against female in their songs and each composition is woven together with a variety of different instruments, chords, and beats. The well written lyrics really show the raw potential these musicians have. As a lover of music I can't wait to hear more and follow the band as they embark on what I hope is going to be a bright and happy future.
Formed in January 2014, the folk rock/indie band consists of 2 females and 1 male. Meesha Greensmith, Paige Greensmith and Luke Warren. Passionate musicians, both Meesha and Luke found one another via an advertisement posted on the internet. After contacting each other and then finally meeting in person they had a few jamming sessions. Later that year, in March, Paige joined, thus completing the 3 piece line-up for 'Take Me To Alaska,' who's music has often been compared to that of the band 'Of Monsters and Men.'
Personally I was very excited about their performance. I had anticipated and waited for quite some months to hear a full song or track of theirs. All year they would tease me now and again with 'Snapchat' videos and exclusive updates for their fans such as Twitter and Facebook. Finally on the 21st of December 2014 I was able to witness and hear 3 tracks live at the Pi Bar in Leicester. Their performance was incredible...excuse me if I'm being biased. Despite the nerves that were very evident at the beginning, they grew in confidence through out their short set.
The first song 'Second Best' was a strong start, with its heart pounding base chords supplemented by a beautiful subtle drum beat that, for me, echoed the sounds of the bands name. 'Second Best' seemed to take me to the snowy mountain tops of Alaska and wrap me in a blanket. It's well written lyrics perfectly intertwining with the music. For me this very song had some likeness to the works of 'The Black Ghosts', more specifically the track 'Full Moon'.
With a change of instrument for Meesha, came a slight change of pace for their second song. '3 Years of Fall' is an inspirational, tear-jerker of a song that starts with soft mellow chords and keeps to a slow pace throughout. The lyrics convey both deep emotions and expressions of love, inviting the listener to take a chance and open their eyes to life's possibilities. With the onset of each chorus the strums of their guitars increased and then slowed and as the song reached its close the instruments smoothly faded out one by one.
The band finished off their set with a song called 'When Winter Comes.' This was the stand out track of the three for me. It felt so original and picked up from the mellow pace of their previous number. The warm tone set by the use of 3 electric acoustic guitars continued throughout the song, picking up the pace for each chorus. As the second chorus closed a solo bridge by Meesha kicked in before she was joined by Luke continuing the main tune. As Paige came in with her bass, Meesha switched from playing her guitar to drumming it and gave the bridge a very beautiful heart-felt touch. The song was brought back into a final round of the chorus and then faded out with a round of applause from the audience.
I really love the complementary vocals of male against female in their songs and each composition is woven together with a variety of different instruments, chords, and beats. The well written lyrics really show the raw potential these musicians have. As a lover of music I can't wait to hear more and follow the band as they embark on what I hope is going to be a bright and happy future.
